first-person

1 of 2

adjective

first-per·​son ˈfərs(t)-ˈpər-sᵊn 

variants or less commonly first person

1

: of, relating to, or occurring in the first person

a first-person narrative

a first-person verb form

2

: experienced as if through the eyes of an avatar (as in a video game)

As 3-D first-person games evolved, … visual verisimilitude improved …

—Ian Bogost

When playing as the lead guitarist in first person mode players will see fans react to how they play.

—Sean Michael

see also first-person shooter

first person

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a set of linguistic forms (such as verb forms, pronouns, and inflectional affixes) referring to the speaker or writer of the utterance in which they occur

b

: a linguistic form belonging to such a set

c

: reference of a linguistic form to the speaker or writer of the utterance in which it occurs

2

: a style of discourse marked by general use of verbs and pronouns of the first person

Examples of first-person in a Sentence

Noun

She always wrote in the first person.

The sentence “I was born in Maine” is written in the first person.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Jones points to efforts like publishing first-person stories from neurodivergent professionals, sharing resources on how to be an ally, and embedding inclusion into onboarding and team-building—not as side projects, but as structural priorities. —Jennifer Jay Palumbo, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025

June has seen progressively larger drone and missile attacks against Ukraine, with Kyiv’s Operation Spider Web, which used first-person view drones snuck into the country to take out several heavy bombers, seemingly unable to make a significant impact on Russia’s missile capabilities. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 29 June 2025

A lot of video games like 'Silent Hill,' 'Resident Evil,' any of those classic first-person shooters. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 23 June 2025

Some die-hards still swear by the first-person Prime trilogy on GameCube and Wii, but for my money, Super Metroid will always be the franchise’s North Star. —Luke Winkie, Vulture, 18 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1751, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

first person

noun

1

: a set of words or forms (as pronouns or verb forms) referring to the person speaking or writing them

2

: a writing style making use of pronouns and verbs of the first person

first person narration